Here's a story of how the average person(not a collector) can be fooled by the television advertisements for coins. This past Christmas my brother wanted to buy me a coin as present. I ended up receiving the 2012 US Mint proof set. But here's the story. After Christmas my brother told me that he had seen a TV commercial for a 24k gold coin for only $50! and that was the coin he wanted to get me. Not only was it gold but it came from the mint. I told him that any coin that was REALLY 24k gold would not be selling for $50 and that companies call themselves a "mint" to sound official. It took me awhile to convince him that the coin is only plated in gold and that gold plating has no value. I still don't think he totally believes me but rather just agreed with me so I would top arguing with him. He ended up not getting the coin because his fiance' told him it was a bad purchase and it was not really gold. After he described the coin I determined that the coin was the Buffalo nickel design. I jut wanted to share this story because I always say how can people buy this crap! But I guess people like to think they're getting a deal and will believe it. Evan
I think a lot of people still don't know the price of gold itself. $50 may seem like a lot to someone who is uneducated about the cost of the metal. I think iggnorance is a better term, but some people just really have no clue.
I know what ad that is, and I agree its completely deceptive. They show a buffalo gold coin from the US mint and then try to allude their POS is even better and will appreciate similarly. I have no idea how these people can replicate some US coins so close, and be so deceptive in their ads. I am betting there is a room full of lawyers with twisted lawyer wording involved. What is the definition of "the".........
I hate these ads as much as anyone, but they are covered in their small print: "you can reserve your own tribute proof of the $50 Buffalo Gold Coin clad in 14 mg of 24 KT gold." The fact that the rest of the blurb talks about a genuine .9999 gold coin, that this is just a tribute to, is the misleading part. (14mg of gold by my reckoning is about 50c worth?) We have similar companies over here - for future reference, the only genuine producer of British coins these days is the "Royal Mint". When you see producers such as "London Mint" or "Westminster Mint" or anything else, then you are being taken for a ride. After a while one develops one's Edited~curse rule violation-substitution with symbols not allowed detectors. Even if I had not been warned about this buffalo site, alarms would have gone off very early in my mind!
I like to occasionally watch that Chappell character on HSN when he's hawking coins (BUT WOULD NEVER BUY from him). Last night it was a "1973 'GEM PROOF' Eisenhower 'KEY DATE'". He kept saying out this was one of the lowest mintages of the series. But "it can be yours" for only $54.95..but wait... there was more. You could get a 20 coin roll for only $39.95 per coin. I finally just turned it over to QVC so my fiancee could watch that! :rollling:
THIS IS FROM THE US MINTS WEBSITE: Tips On Identifying Genuine U.S. Coins Consumers sometimes encounter difficulty distinguishing between replicas and genuine U.S. coins. We provide the below examples to help consumers distinguish between the two. Information exists for: Genuine United States Mint 2001 American Buffalo Commemorative Proof Silver Dollar Genuine United States Mint One-Ounce American Eagle Silver Proof Coin Genuine 2001 American Buffalo Commemorative Proof Silver Dollar Source: The United States Mint Replica 2001 "Giant Buffalo Proof" Source: National Collector's Mint, Inc. Tips on Identifying the Genuine United States Mint 2001 American Buffalo Commemorative Proof Silver Dollar [TABLE="class: compTable"] Genuine Coin Replica Inscription "In God We Trust" appears near the upper portion of the coin. Replica’s inscription reads: ".999 Fine Silver". Inscription "E Pluribus Unum" appears under the buffalo’s head. Replica does not have an inscription under the buffalo’s head. Official denomination of the coin – "One Dollar" appears below buffalo. Replica’s inscription reads "Giant Buffalo Proof". Genuine coin shows the Philadelphia (P) mint mark below the denomination. Replica does not display the Philadelphia (P) mintmark. Genuine coin displays the mintage year "2001" on the obverse (Indian) side. Replica displays mintage year "2001" below the buffalo. [/TABLE] Genuine 1999 American Eagle Silver Proof Coin (One Ounce) Source: The United States Mint Replica -- 1999 Half-Pound Silver Eagle Source: The Washington Mint, LLC Tips on Identifying the Genuine United States Mint One-Ounce American Eagle Silver Proof Coin [TABLE="class: compTable"] Genuine Coin Replica Diameter is 1.598 inches [40.60 mm]. Diameter is 3.5 inches [88.9 mm]. Weighs 31.101 grams and contains one ounce of .9993 silver. Weighs 248.82 grams [one-half pound or 8 troy oz.] and contains .999 pure silver. Inscription on the bottom of the genuine coin (reverse) reads "1 OZ. FINE SILVER - ONE DOLLAR". Inscription on the bottom of the replica (reverse) reads "ONE HALF POUND FINE SILVER .999." Genuine coin (reverse) shows the official United States Mint Mark ("P", "S", or "W" depending on year of manufacture) to the left of the eagle's tail. Replica (reverse) shows the Washington Mint's private hallmark (WM) to the left of the eagle's tail. Genuine coin (reverse) shows the United States Mint designer's initials (JM) to the right of the eagle's tail. The replica (reverse) does not show the United States Mint designer's initials. Replica Data Source: The Washington Mint, LLC Certificate of Authenticity [/TABLE]
Sorry the pics didn't load correctly but here's the link to the US Mint's site: http://www.usmint.gov/consumer/?action=tips
These people are preying on the uneducated. In my opinion, they should be forced to declare the actual gold value of the items they sell. This will prevent people from thinking they are getting a "great deal" on an ounce of gold.
I bought a gold sovereign from the Royal Mint a few years back, I hope it's real Those plated Buffs do have the word "copy" on them. I guess that covers their rears with respect to fraud claims.
Unfortunately people buy these junk coins thinking they are actual gold. Its part of the get rich quickly mentality. If most people would sit down and think logically they would realize that there is no such thing as a free money or a free profit. I would also like to share a funny story. A friend was telling me once how he had a few gold coins that he wanted to sell. My first questions were what are the face value and size of the coin. From what he told me I knew they were replica gold plated ASEs.
